18 March 2010

Episode 25 Business Mobile: Inspirations

I am the happy owner of "The six immutable laws of mobile business", by Philip Sugai, Marco Koeder and Ludovico Ciferri.

I found this book while surfing on the net, searching for information about mobile business and I think that what convinced me to buy the book, was that they were many interviews with successful mobile business owners, like the founder of Mixi for example. For the whole list check www.siximmutablelaws.com.

I didn't really know what to expect from it but I had the feeling that it was going to be interesting...
And it was! Here are a few learning from this book. (I don't want to spoil to much)

I learned that most of us, have misconceptions about why the mobile industry is so advanced in Japan and the and the authors have done a great documented work to debunk them.

I learned, about the Japanese Mobile ecosystem and understood the reasons why the WAP was not designed to be as successful like the I-mode.

The chapter 3 relates quite well with my project, because it discuss about how the mobile phones have evolved from a simple wireless phone to an empowering tools for its users and even for businesses, including NPOs.

The final chapter defines the new era of Simplexity, which is a stage where complex technology starts to become more user friendly and intelligent.

I have personally discussed with two of the authors and want to thank personally Marco and Philip for giving me priceless recommendations, about what I should think about before starting the development of my project.

If you want to start a mobile business, even if it's not in Japan, I personally recommend you to read this book. There are few concepts that I didn't even know they were existing like the time zones, but they turn out to be very important when thinking about the business model.
(No I haven't been paid to say that, honest)